Asian session: The yen dropped for a fifth day

02:00 China Leading Index March +1.3% 0.0%

04:30 Japan All Industry Activity Index, m/m February -1.4% -0.6% +0.6%

The yen dropped against the dollar after Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said policies that have driven the currency to a four-year low escaped criticism at the Group of 20 meeting in Washington. G-20 finance ministers and central bankers complete two days of talks today. A draft statement prepared for the end of the meeting suggested members will withhold direct criticism of Japan’s stimulus while affirming a commitment to avoid weakening their currencies to gain a trade advantage.

The yen weakened versus all of its 16 most-traded counterparts before the Bank of Japan meets next week amid expectations Governor Haruhiko Kuroda will push ahead with expanding stimulus that helped weaken the yen 19 percent against the dollar in six months. The BOJ meets on April 26 after pledging this month to double the monetary base in two years through expanded purchases of government bonds in a bid to end 15 years of deflation.

Demand for the dollar was tempered after manufacturing in the Philadelphia region expanded in April at a slower pace than projected as fewer orders prompted managers to cut back on hiring and inventories. The data follow a report on April 15 showing growth also cooled at factories in the New York Fed region. The Fed is buying $85 billion of bonds each month until it sees significant improvement in the jobs market. A Labor Department report on April 5 showed employment growth unexpectedly slowed last month to 88,000 workers.

EUR / USD: during the Asian session, the pair rose to $ 1.3075

GBP / USD: during the Asian session, the pair rose to $ 1.5295.

USD / JPY: during the Asian session, the pair rose to Y98.65.

The calendar gets underway at 0600GMT, with the release of the German March PPI numbers, followed at 0700GMT with the Spanish February industrial orders numbers. Further data is due at 0800GMT, with the release of the ECB's February current account data and the Italian February industrial orders. As noted, the G20 finance ministers meet again in Washington. Ahead of that, at 1130GMT, ECB Governing Council Member Jens Weidmann and German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble hold a press conference in Washington.